John Joseph McCarthy was an American basketball player and coach. A 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) point guard, he played college basketball and was an All-American at Canisius College. He was selected by the Rochester Royals in the 1956 NBA draft. He played a total of six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA)—two for the Royals, three for the St. Louis Hawks, and one for the Boston Celtics.

Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's and certificate programs.